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Topic : 01/23 Con Artists and Thieves

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Created on : Friday, January 18, 2008, 02:25:02 pm

Author : DrPhilBoard1

From petty theft to check fraud, Dr. Phil’s guests say they’re addicted to stealing, and it’s destroying their families. Casey says he’s been pilfering for 16 years and has ripped off groceries, appliances, DVDs -- even one of Dr. Phil’s books! Casey estimates that he’s stolen nearly $100,000 in merchandise and says his estranged brother, Zack, is clueless about the extent of his criminal activity. How does Zack respond when Casey reveals another deep, dark secret? Will the brothers be able to reconcile, and will Casey change his thieving ways? And, Micki says she uses her good looks to get jewelry and credit card numbers from men, but her kids have no idea she leads a secret life as a con artist. Recently, she was arrested for stealing $10,000 in a check fraud scheme. Find out why one friend says she deserves to be behind bars. Don’t miss Dr. Phil’s strong message for Micki. Join the discussion.

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WITHOUT CONSCIENCE - RECOGNIZING THE REMORSELESS

How do we recognize the remorseless? One of their chief characteristics is a kind of glow or charisma that makes sociopaths more charming or interesting than the other people around them. They’re more spontaneous, more intense, more complex or even sexier than everyone else, making them tricky to identify and leaving us easily seduced. Some of my favorite books that provide a great introduction and insight are:

Emotional Blackmail: When the People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation and Guilt to Manipulate You by Susan Forward AND Why Is It Always About You?: The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism by Sandy Hotchkiss

Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us by Robert Hare ORTreating Personality Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Relational Approach by Efrain Bleiberg

How to Journal for Therapy:

http://arar.essortment.com/therapyjournali_repu.htm

Healing Anxiety and Depression (7 types of anxiety and depression) by Daniel Amen and Lisa Routh OR Getting Help: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Self-Assessment and Treatment of Mental Health Problems by Jeffrey Wood

Fundamentally, sociopaths are different because they cannot love. Sociopaths learn early on to show fake emotion, but underneath they are indifferent to others’ suffering. They live to dominate and thrive for the thrill to win. We all almost certainly know at least one or more sociopaths already.

They Are Criminals

These people are criminals. We have been victims of one of Dr. Phil's previous guest..."the benevolent con-artist", Fred Brito. He has been doing this for almost 20 years, been in jail, and still continues to lie, cheat and steal. Dr. Phil needs to have all these people in his Dr. Phil house and let them do to each other what they have done to others.

Dishonest people

I am fed up with 5 finger discount thieves and people who commit fraud of any kind.They think they're doing no wrong and no one gets hurt. They are dead wrong, consumer prices go up to cover the cost of stolen items, bank fees and credit card fees go uo from all the fraud commited.Start giving out the punishment they deserve, jail time and make them pay back every penny.

Sociopaths

These people feel as though they are "entitled" to whatever they want. They are criminals with a serious illness. I was married to one for over 20 years, he is still stealing and still lying. No amount of profession help or family support has "cured" him and never will.

Jail Time

Why are they not in jail? Boasting about their thievery makes me sick. I have worked since I was 13 years old and still after 40 years continue to work and improve my life and inviroment. These parasites don't deserve to live in our society. They deserve to e in prison among ohers like themselves! Why are they still on our streets?

01/23 Con Artists and Thieves

These people are criminals. We have been victims of one of Dr. Phil's previous guest..."the benevolent con-artist", Fred Brito. He has been doing this for almost 20 years, been in jail, and still continues to lie, cheat and steal. Dr. Phil needs to have all these people in his Dr. Phil house and let them do to each other what they have done to others.

i saw that show about Fred. it helped me understand many thing about my daugther. did you know that sometime they do get trained by our own ways of living in our society? mine got trained with her rights, as a kid. she`s a smart kid. she knew the law and about her rights. so, without telling the whole story about her, she became a con-artist and a pretty good one too!!! today she`s 23 years old, soon 24 in june and in may will be 1 year that i keep myself away from her. she started learning about to be a con-artist at 7 i think. 15 years of stuff i`ve been realising and Fred, made it. she`s just like him. if i relye on my experience with my kid. they`re born with the potential to be and it`s up to us to make it develop or not!. i thaught her values and respect especially and believe me, she was very hard to handle, stubburn, and everything i said no for, she went for it.! and if they can bribes us, don`t you think that they cannot bribe the law institution? i don`t know how many time she used their own laws to get to where she wanted. i could tell so many stories about things she`ve done to me and others. i just keep myself away from her now, just talking about it make me all shakee. just want to share this.

They need HELP

I have read all of your comments on this topic. Let me start by saying I DO NOT condone any of these behaviors. I DO BELIEVE that there were probably signs early on that these people had mental health problems, & they were more than likely not treated at all or not treated properly.

I am the mother of a 17 yr old who has been dx'd ADHD, Bipolar I, Schizoid Personality Disorder, Schizotypal Personality Disorder, possible Asperger's, & Habitual Thief (my dx). Igg stole for the 1st time at the age of 2. We immediately returned to the store where I made him return the stolen item. I then had a discussion with him about stealing. It is now 15 yrs later & my son is still stealing. Over these past 15 yrs, my son has been taken on a tour of the local juvenile detention center (at the age of 5), taken to the police station, had to return the stolen merchandise (& payment for it, with money he has to earn, if it was stolen from a store), had his butt spanked, had his personal items taken from him, loss of privileges, through a personal agreement w/ a victim he did "community service", lost what few friends he did have, been kicked out of his favorite class in school, & in lot's of therapy, none of which has worked.

We have asked his current Dr. & therapist about an inpatient program to help him; they have told us there is no treatment for this disorder, they told us to let him get arrested, & let him go to jail. That tells me they are saying to give up on him. I, as a mother, can not just give up on my son. Sending him to jail is NOT the answer, it does not help him or rehabilitate him.

As most of you have expressed in your comments:

"These parasites don't deserve to live in our society; 1st of all, MY SON IS NOT A PARASITE, he is a very troubled child who wants and desperately needs help. They deserve to be in prison among others like themselves; People like this should be locked up & restricted from society; Yes, they would be among others like themselves, people that are ill, that society says, just lock them away we have no use for them, they are Sick NOT BAD. Would you feel that way if they had cancer? No, I'm sure you wouldn't. These people are ill, that's why it is called "MENTAL ILLNESS!!!!" Stealing is not an addiction; Maybe it isn't an addiction, but it is an ILLNESS, that needs treatment. This is simply a psychobabble excuse for being a THIEF; No it is not, obviously you do not have a good understanding of mental illness or it's effects on the people who suffer everyday with it. You don't need therapy to figure out why you steal-you already know it is wrong- so STOP doing it; My son does feel remorse after he has stolen, so much so that he has suicidal thoughts, because he says, "Mom I don't know how else to stop." This is a child who wants help & wants to stop, but no matter how hard he tries to, he can't stop himself. It's not as easy as just STOPPING.

I now know why God thought my family was special enough to be given not 1 but 2 of his Special People to Love, because he knew we would LOVE THEM & FIGHT FOR THEM UNCONDITIONALLY; & unlike so many OF YOU in society, we would NOT give up on them and just LOCK them away & restrict them from society.

There is so much still unknown about Mental Illness, but I can tell you first hand, we live with it every single day of our lives, MENTAL ILLNESS IS HELL!!!! For those who suffer from with it & those who love and stand by them. It is heartbreaking when your 14 yr old son is having hallucinations so badly he is afraid to take a shower without someone in the room with him, when he can't sleep because those people in my room won't shut-up, when your son spends 4 1/2 weeks in a mental health facility on suicide watch. That's just a drop in the bucket for our loved ones living with MENTAL ILLNESS. How may of you could walk a mile in their shoes? Probably not many of you. So, before you so harshly judge others & make uneducated comments, consider this: MENTAL ILLNESSES ARE REAL & can make people do things that most of us would never consider doing. Have some compassion & be try to a positive influence in their life.